Markets set for a positive open ahead of inflation data
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a positive open on Wednesday after a late slump snapped a six-day winning streak on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 during the previous session.
By 5:45 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow jumped 81 points, or 0.26% to 31,359. The S&P 500 futures added 11.88 points, or 0.3% to 3,917.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 55.5 points, or 0.41% to 13,735.75.
Traders are eyeing U.S. inflation data for January, due to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists project Consumer Price index (CPI) rose 0.3% in January and 1.5% on year-over-year basis following gains of 0.3% and 1.4% in December.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is also scheduled to deliver a speech before a virtual Economic Club of New York event at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Twitter pops on upbeat Q4 earnings and sales
Shares of Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) added gains in pre-market trading Wednesday after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that were above Wall Street’s expectations.
The social media giant said it had earnings of $0.38 per share and revenues of $1.29 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts expected it to announce earnings of $0.31 per share on revenues of $1.19 billion.
As of this writing, the stock was indicated 5.73% higher to $63.30 a share.
Lyft posts narrower quarterly loss
Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) shares jumped 12.55% to $60.37 each in pre-market trading this morning after the company said losses narrowed during the fourth-quarter even as the coronavirus pandemic weight on its business.
The ride-hailing platform reported a loss of $0.58 per share, which beat analysts’ views for a loss of $0.72 per share. Revenue came in at $569.9 million, down 43.96% on a year-over-year basis but above estimates of $562.49 million.
Lyft CEO Logan Green said the company is well-positioned to recover from the pandemic because he believes “the US could reach critical immunity levels earlier than many international destinations.”
Uber, GM, Coca-Cola earnings on tap
Traders will get more quarterly earnings today, with Lyft competitor Uber (NYSE: UBER) among those set to report.
The California-based company is expected post a loss of $0.55 per share and revenue of $3.58 billion after the closing bell.
Other key earnings to watch today include (NYSE: KO), General Motors (NYSE: GM), Under Armour (NYSE: UAA), Bunge (NYSE: BG), and Zillow (NASDAQ: ZG).
